Multicolor rotary intaglio press with roller wipers



y 1967 R. R. H. DES LYONS DE FEUCHIN 3,316,838

MULTICOLOR ROTARY INTAGLIO PRESS WITH ROLLER WIPERS Filed March 26, 1964 .LLHIIIIIII IHHIIIII IN VENTOK @66 5 as: f/C'A/PY as 4 WM: as FEVCfi/IA/ United States Patent 3,316,838 MULTICOLOR ROTARY INTAGLIO PRESS WITH ROLLER WIPERS Regis Ren Henry des Lyons de Feuchin, Paris, France, assignor to Societe Technique dImpressions Fiduciaires, Paris, France, a society of France Filed Mar. 26, 1964, Ser. No. 354,956 Claims priority, application France, Oct. 23, 1963, 951,573, Patent 1,383,021 2 Claims. (Cl. 101-152) Multicolor plate printing machines are already known which comprise a printing cylinder on which sheets of paper to be printed are applied and a plate-holder cylinder. On the periphery of this cylinder are the inking roller or rollers that ink the plates.

The inking, in the case of polychrome printing, is obtained by means of several inking rollers which each deposit ink--and thus a color--on a specific part of the plates. The inking rollers assembly, used for a given printing, therefore requires ink to be applied to the total surface of the plates.

However, once the printing plates are covered with ink, it is necessary, before printing, to carry out a regulating of the quantity of ink deposited into the grooves and this without obtaining any mixture of inks of different colors placed at various well defined points of the plate, while perfectly wiping over the surface of the plates.

Up till now, this regulating of the quantity of ink and this wiping have been effected in an imperfect manner, so that the quantity of the printed sheets have been imperfect and left a good deal to be desired.

The aim of the present invention is to avoid the above inconveniences and to provide an assisted inking device for a multicolor plate printing machine which enables a suitable inking of the plates and hence good quality prints.

Another object of the invention is to Wipe the surface of the plates without producing the slightest mixture of the various colors placed on the plate and in the engravings of this plate.

Another object of the invention is to compact the ink into the bottom of the grooves to regulate the quantity of ink found in these engravings so as to prevent the ink from spreading out during printing.

Another object of the invention is to clean the regulating roller applied to the inked plate so as to prevent a mixture of inks on the regulating roller and thus avoid traces of mixed inks which might appear on this regulating roller and so be carried on the inked plate.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear from the description hereafter and the attached drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 shows in a diagrammatic manner, a multicolor plate printing machine according to the invention;

FIGURES 2, 3, 4 and 5 show modifications of inking plates as wiping progresses.

The machine, according to the invention, consists of a printing cylinder 1 on whch several sectors are arranged for receving sheets to be printed.

In FIGURE 1, the printing cylinder 1 thus comprises two sectors 2 diametrically opposed receiving the sheets to be printed. This printing cylinder is in contact by its periphery with the plate-holder cylinder 3 comprising two intaglio plates or dies 4.

The position of the plate-holder cylinder 3 is determined in relation to the printing cylinder 1 so that the plates 4 come into exact correspondence with the sheets to be printed placed on the sectors 2 during the rotation of the cylinders 1 and 3. In contact with the periphery of the plateholder cylinder 3, two sets of rollers are applied, the first of these sets comprising the rollers 6, 7, 8 and 9 intended for inking the plates, each for one color of ink, the second set comprising the rollers 10, 11 and 12 are more particularly intended to remove the surplus ink from the engravings and on the surface of the plates without mixing the colors and to perfectly wipe said surface.

To obtain the inking of the plates 4 by the inking rollers 6, 7, 8, 9 these inking rollers are cut or countersunk, as already stated, so that each of them can only come into contact with the plates 4 at very carefully determined places on each plate corresponding to an inking zone in one of the colors. By a complementary cutting of the inking rollers 6, 7, 8, 9, we thus obtain the inking of the whole surface of the plates 4 without obtaining, at any place, an inking with two colors. The inks of different colors will thus be separated (see FIGURES 2 to 5) by a perfectly defined line schematized at 21 and separating, for example, two inks of different colors situated at 22 and 23.

This inking is, for example, obtained for each of the rollers, 6, 7, 8 and 9 by means of secondary rollers 6 6 6 6 and 6 of which one 6 is in contact with an ink fountain 6 Some of the rollers have an axial movement.

With these inking rollers, we thus obtain an inking of the plate in the way shown in FIGURE 2..

However, this inking is not yet suitable for printing, for, on the one hand, the surface of the plate 4 is covered With ink, and on the other, the ink is not placed into the bottom of the grooves 14 of the plate.

The set of rollers 10, 11 and 12 is therefore intended to compact the ink in the bottom of the grooves, to remove the ink from the surface of the plate, and to adjust the quantity of ink deposited in the grooves: to a necessary optimum volume.

On the periphery of the plate-holder cylinder 3 and after the inking rollers, in the rotation direction of this plate-holder cylinder 3, there is first of all provided a roller 10, which is intended to compact the ink in the bottom of the grooves and to remove a part of the ink from the grooves and from the surface of the plate without mixing the colors.

For this purpose, the roller 10 revolves at a circumferential speed which is the same as that of the plateholder cylinder 3 and its diameter is furthermore so designed as to take into account the sinking in pressure in such a way that the length of its circumference strictly corresponds to the length of the plates 4, so that during the rotation of this roller 10 in relation to the plate-holder cylinder, each generatrix of the roller 10 always comes into contact with the same generatrix of the plate-holder cylinder.

The inking of the plates 4 then becomes as shown in FIGURE 3, in which the ink is compacted in the bottom of the grooves and does not totally fill them.

It is, however, advisable to clean this roller 10 as its rotation progresses without producing a mixture of colors which are on it, for, in the case where the cleaning of the roller 10 might not be perfect, a displacement of the ink spreading on this roller would produce a mixture of colors which would be discharged on the plates 4.

This is obtained by the cleaning rollers 16 and 17 which are applied against one another, the roller 16 being in contact with the roller 10, the rollers 16, 17 being moreover of the same diameter as the roller 10 and revolving at the same speed and without slippage on each other.

-In this way, the ink on this roller 10 which comes from the surplus ink of the plates 4 discharges on the roller 16 then on the roller 17, and in such a way that each generatrix of the rollers 10, 16 and 17 always comes back into contact with the same generatrix of the adjacent roller or rollers.

The last roller 17 of the cleaning rollers is, moreover,

Cleaned by brushes 19 placed in a tank containing a solvent and wiped with a doctor blade 18.

Following the roller 10 there is a prewiping roller 11 which revolves in the same direction as this roller 10, but at a slightly higher rotation speed than that of the plateholder cylinder 3. There is thus produced a slight slipping of the periphery of this roller against the plates 4.

However, the rotation speed of this roller is calculated so as to prevent any mixture of colors on the surface of the plates, which is, furthermore, facilitated by the fact that the ink on the surface of the plates 4 has already been partially removed by the roller 10.

The rotation of this roller 11 can also and eventually be accomplished by a lateral reciprocating movement having the object of increasing the wiping action, on condition that only one color is printed.

This roller 11, combined with the action of the roller 10, is intended to assist in the wiping of the upper surface of the plates '4, and to remove a certain additional quantity of ink from the grooves 14 (see FIGURE 4), in order to bring it to the required volume and thus prevent the spreading of the ink which would not fail to occur under the action of the paper, which, because of the printing pressure, penetrates more or less deeply into the grooves, acording to its nature and the characteristics of the packing material of the printing cylinder 1.

Then, all that remains is the completing of the wiping of the upper face of the plates and this is obtained (see FIGURE 1) by the roller 12.

The roller 12 revolves in the opposite direction as the cylinder 3 and is applied so as to produce considerable friction on the upper surface of the plates.

In this way, one succeeds in removing the ink still remaining on the upper part of the plates. One thus obtains a plate 4 (see FIGURE 5) which will have ink solely in the grooves, these grooves being partially filled with ink.

The cleaning of the rollers 11 and 12 is obtained as in the case of the cleaning roller 17 by brushes 19 and doctor blades 18.

Of course, the invention is not restricted to the examples of embodiment described and shown above, from which other alternatives can be provided, without going outside of the scope of the invention for that purpose. In particular, it should be noted that the printing machine may be a sheet fed machine or web machine fed from reels.

Iclaim:

1. An inking device for a multi-color plate printing machine comprising a printing cylinder, a plate-holder cylinder equipped with at least one engraved intaglio plate adapted to be consecutively inked with several inks of different color, a plurality of inking rollers in contact with said plate-holder cylinder, at first compacting roller located in sequence after said inking rollers in engagement without slippage with said plate-holder cylinder, for compacting the ink into the bottom of grooves engraved in said plate and for removing a portion of ink from said grooves as well as a portion from the upper face of said plates without mixing the colors, said first compacting roller having a diameter arranged so that each generatrix thereof always comes in contact with the same generatrix of said plate-holder cylinder, a second roller located in sequence after said first roller in the same rotational direction as said plate-holder cylinder and revolving in the same rotational direction as said first roller at a very slightly higher circumferential speed than that of said plate-holder cylinder for removing surplus ink from said grooves and for assisting in a partial wiping of the upper surface of said plate, means for cleaning said first and said second rollers, a third roller located in sequence after said second roller in the rotational direction of said plateholder cylinder, said third roller being in engagement with said plate-holder cylinder and revolving in a direction opposite to that of said first and second rollers to finish the wiping of said plate, and means for cleaning said third roller.

2. An inking device for a multi-color plate printing machine as set forth in claim 1 wherein said means for cleaning said first roller includes a fourth roller in contact with said first roller, and a fifth roller in contact with said fourth roller for removing the ink from said first roller, each of said first, fourth and fifth rollers revolving on each other without slippage.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,014,923 1/1912 Valentin et al. 101426 2,132,086 10/1938 Scheffler 101-175 2,585,617 2/1952 Battey 101--156 2,746,387 5/1956 Neumann 101--155 2,888,902 6/1959 Wells et al. 118-262 X 2,987,993 6/1961 Giori 101155 FOREIGN PATENTS 734,814 8/1955 Great Britain.

ROBERT E. PULFREY, Primary Examiner.

J. R. FISHER, Assistant Examiner. 

1. AN INKING DEVICE FOR A MULTI-COLOR PLATE PRINTING MACHINE COMPRISING A PRINTING CYLINDER, A PLATE-HOLDER CYLINDER EQUIPPED WITH AT LEAST ONE ENGRAVED INTAGLIO PLATE ADAPTED TO BE CONSECUTIVELY INKED WITH SEVERAL INKS OF DIFFERENT COLOR, A PLURALITY OF INKING ROLLERS IN CONTACT WITH SAID PLATE-HOLDER CYLINDER, A FIRST COMPACTING ROLLER LOCATED IN SEQUENCE AFTER SAID INKING ROLLERS IN ENGAGEMENT WITHOUT SLIPPAGE WITH SAID PLATE-HOLDER CYLINDER, FOR COMPACTING THE INK INTO THE BOTTOM OF GROOVES ENGRAVED IN SAID PLATE AND FOR REMOVING A PORTION OF INK FROM SAID GROOVES AS WELL AS A PORTION FROM THE UPPER FACE OF SAID PLATES WITHOUT MIXING THE COLORS, SAID FIRST COMPACTING ROLLER HAVING A DIAMETER ARRANGED SO THAT EACH GENERATRIX THEREOF ALWAYS COMES IN CONTACT WITH THE SAME GENERATRIX OF SAID PLATE-HOLDER CYLINDER, A SECOND ROLLER LOCATED IN SEQUENCE AFTER SAID FIRST ROLLER IN THE SAME ROTATIONAL DIRECTION AS SAID PLATE-HOLDER CYLINDER AND REVOLVING IN THE SAME ROTATIONAL DIRECTION AS SAID FIRST ROLLER AT A VERY SLIGHTLY HIGHER CIRCUMFERENTIAL SPEED THAN THAT OF SAID PLATE-HOLDER CYLINDER FOR REMOVING SURPLUS INK FROM SAID GROOVES AND FOR ASSISTING IN A PARTIAL WIPING OF THE UPPER SURFACE OF SAID PLATE, MEANS FOR CLEANING SAID FIRST AND SAID SECOND ROLLERS, A THIRD ROLLER LOCATED IN SEQUENCE AFTER SAID SECOND ROLLER IN THE ROTATIONAL DIRECTION OF SAID PLATEHOLDER CYLINDER, SAID THIRD ROLLER BEING IN ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID PLATE-HOLDER CYLINDER AND REVOLVING IN A DIRECTION OPPOSITE TO THAT OF SAID FIRST AND SECOND ROLLERS TO FINISH THE WIPING OF SAID PLATE, AND MEANS FOR CLEANING SAID THIRD ROLLER. 